8 March 2010

A Scottish animal charity has said that last year was the worst year in recent memory for animal cruelty and marked an increase in the number of abandoned or unwanted pets.

Chief superintendent Mike Flynn made the comment after the Scottish SPCA revealed an increase in calls to its hotline and a rise in the number of pet rescues.

"While our workload has increased, we believe that this is due in part to people being more aware of who we are and how we can help. What is shocking though, even to us, is the nature of recent attacks against animals," he said.

"Our inspectors and ambulance drivers have had to deal with some of the most sickening and harrowing scenes you can imagine.

He said the vast majority of Scottish pet owners take great care of their animals, but the cruelty the charity has been dealing with is "horrific".

He highlighted the case of a pet dog that was shot in the head 13 times with an airgun by its drunken owner, and another where a pet dog was tied up and left to starve to death in woods.

The charity took in a total of 14,019 unwanted pets last year, up from 12,545 in 2008, and attended more than 42,500 incidents and animal rescues last year, an increase of more than 4,000 since the previous year.